Gas cannon



Aug.. 14, 1934. E. s; PEAKE 1,970,0l7

GAS CANNON Original FiledMay 12. 19.32 2 sheets-snee't `1 INVENTOR [DW/?RD 6'. FEAKE.

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 14, 1934 UNITED STATES Edward S. Peake, Westerville, Ohio, assignor to The Kilgore Manutacturing Company, Westerville, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application May 12, 1932, Serial No.

Divided' and this application Novem ber 5, 1932, Serial No. 1,423 v 4 Claims.

, This invention relates to improvements in gas cannons, and particularlyto improvements in ammunition adapted to be used in such cannons.

It has for its object to provide a gas-generating ammunition in measured form, soluble in liquid, consisting of pellets and the like, which may be coated if desired with some suitable material which moisture will not readily attack, but which may be quickly removed by the act of placing the pellets in a generating chamber in contact with sufiicient water to affect both coating and ammunition.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an ammunition consisting of carbide in stick form. such carbide may be coated with some suitable protective cover and separated into sections by means of indentations. The sections are broken along the indentations, which aifords a surface along which water may attack the carbide for producing gas in the generating chamber.

These and other advantages will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, in which not only various forms of ammunition are shown but a form of gun adapted to be used with each form of ammunition is' shown.

This application is a division of my copending application, Ser. No. 610,'151, filedMay 12, 1932.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of' one( form oi gun or mortar.

Figure 2 is a section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section similar to Figure 2, showing a modified form of mortar and a modified form of ammunition.

Figure 4 is a. section through a further modified form of mortar, showing the form of ammunition used therewith.

Figure 5 is still another form of cannon showing still another form of ammunition.

Figure 6 is a further form of cannon with the ammunition in stick form, separated into sections by means of indentations.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a stick of- 7 ammunition used in connection with the form shown in Figure 3. I

Figure 8 is a perspective of a strip of ammunition used in connection with the mortar shown in Figure 4.

Figure 9 is a section on the lin'e 9-9 of Figure 5. In Figure 1 there is shown a top plan View of the mortar, which is supported on a base 1, which has upwardly extending side members 2 having bearings therein for supporting trunnions 3 of the mortar These trunnions are supported in the side' members by means of screws 4 extending through the side members into the trunnions.

The lower end of the barrel of the mortar has a breech 6, which has extending through the center thereof a. hole '7 through which the gas (Cl. l02--l) passes into the barrel for discharging a ball, such as the rubber ball 8 shown in the various figures of the drawings. Immediately below and to the back of the breech is a gas chamber 9, which is formed by an annular projection 10 of the walls of the barrel, and a breechblock 11 fltting on the projection and retained thereon by means of a sleeve 12 threaded at 13 to the projection' This sleeve has an inwardly extending flange 12a which engages a shoulder on the breechblock.

Between the breechblo ck and the projection is a gasket 14, which serves' to make the connection between the breechblock and the projection watertight. Located within the generating chamber is water 15, which acts upon the carbide projected into the generating chamber for producing a gas for expelling the ball from the mortar. Leading into the generating chamber is an ammunition p'ort 16 connected to a chamber 18 in a projection 19 for containing the pellets 17, such as carbide in the 'form of balls suitably coated. or in the form of sticks, also suitably coated.

The upper end of the ammunition chamber 18 is closed by means of a door 20, while in the lower end adjacent theammunition port is a valve 21, which has in one side a pocket 22 to receive one of the ammunition pellets, and on rotation to discharge this pellet into the ammunition port for insertion into the generating chamber.

The part of the valve 21 adjacent the pocket serves as a closure 23 for preventing the gas generated in the generating chamber escaping into the ammunition chamber. The valve is operated by means of a thumb piece 24 located on the upper end thereof, which has on one end a finger 25 adapted to engage a stop 26. By means of the stop 26 the amount of rotation of the valve is limited so that it can rotate through about 180 degrees. In one position the pocket 22 will receive a pellet; while in the other position the peuet will be discharged through the ammunition port with the closure 23 closing the passageway from the port back to the ammunition chamber.

Suitably attached to some part of the breechblock is a hammer 27 pivoted at the point 28 to` suitablerears formed on the breechblock. This A hammer is adapted to engage a pin 29 supported by the breechblock and adapted to engage a cap The ammunition 'used in connection with'the mortarshownin' 'iguresi andzisintheshape of balls which are adapted to be inserted into the generating chamber for producing explosive gas. In the form shown in Figure 3 the ammunition is in the shape ot a bar38, which has therein grooves forming weak places 39 along which the bar may be broken into sections.

In the form of 'mortar shown in Figure 3 the upper end of the ammunition chamber is closed by means of a screw plug 41. Between this screw plug and the upper end of the carbide bar is a spring 40, which urges the bar downwardly to be engaged by means of a plunger 42 which tends to break ofi one section of the bar and force it into the generating chamber. This plunger is supported on its upper end by means of a pivot 43 on a lever 44, which is pivoted to some suitable part of the mortar at the point 45 intermediate its ends. The end of the lever remote from the plunger is provided with a spring 46, which tends to force the plunger down against the bar of carbide for severing one of the sections therefrom and orcing the section into the generating chamber.. There is provided in connection with the ammunition. chamber an end wall 47, which serves to stop the carbide bar as it is forced downwardly by the action of the spring 40. The mortar shown in Figure 3 is in all respects similar to the mortar shown in Figures 1 and 2 with' the exception of the manner in which the ammunition is fed and discharged into the combustion chamber.

V a strip o! ammunition paper 49 carried on a transverse pin 50. This strip of ammunition has a plurality of pellets l-arranged in spaced relationship from one end to the other of the strip, which is ed by means of a feeding wheel 52, which has teeth 53 thereon to engage some suitable part of the strip for feeding the strip and the pellets carried thereby.

i This wheel is supported on an axle 54 carried by the sides of the chamber 48. The wheel is rotated by means of an 'actuating arm 55 pivoted on the axle 54 of the feeding wheel 52. To this arm is pivoted one end of a plunger 56, as indicated by the numeral 57. The other end of this plunger has a cutting edge 58 adapted to engage the' port 16 so that another downward movement of the plunger will sever an additional pellet from the strip.

In order to prevent a backward movement of the feeding wheel during the downward movef ment of the plunger a holding spring 60 is pro'- vided which engages a tooth to prevent backward rotation of the wheel. There is also provided, between the inner end of the actuating arm and a lug 62 located inside of the ammunition chamber, a spring 61 which tends to urge the inside end of the arm upwardly and force the plunger downwardly.

In the form shown in Figure 5 the pellets 63 within an ammunition chamber similar to that shown in the other figures, and closed at its lower end by means of a stop wall 64. Extending upwardly from the lower end of the ammunition chamber and above the stop wall is a hollow projection 65, which has therein a plunger. 66 which is urged downwardly by means o! a' spring 67 located between the upper wall oi the hollow projection and a head 68 on the lower end of the plunger.

On the upper end of the plunger is a flnger piece 69 which rrot only serves as a flnger piece tor elevating the plunger but also serves as a stop for limiting the downward movement of the plunger in injecting one of the pellets into the generating chamber. When the plunger is in its lower position the head 68 serves to close the passageway from the ammunition chamber into the generating chamber and thereby prevents the escape of gas from the generating chamber into the ammunition chamber.

In the form shown in Figure 6 the carbide ammunition is shown in the form of a stick 70, which has weakened places 71 therein along which the sections formed by the weakened places may be broken. The inlet port into the generating chamber is closed by m'eans of a cover '72 pivoted at 73 and adapted to swing over or away from the port. As shown in Figure 6, the cover is removed from the port and the carbide stick is inserted therein.

The sections are broken from the body of the carbide stick by means of a twist or bend in the stick, after which the stick as a whole is removed and the cover is placed over the inlet port so that no gas will escape from the generating chamber.

Each piece of ammunition, such as the ball, cylindrical pellet, stick or strip is covered with some protecting material 74, such as wax paper, paraflln or some other suitable composition or material. When the pellets or a section of the stick are discharged into the generating chamber a sufflcient amount of this protective coating is removed so that the carbide of the ammunition may be acted upon by the water, and in addition 'to this the exposed surface of the coatirg may be attacked by the water, though not readily.

I desire to comprehend within my invention such modiflcations as may be embraced within' my claims and the scope of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A new article of manufacture for use as gas-forming ammunition in a gas cannon comprising spaced carbide balls, and a paper strip carrying said balls in predetermined relationship one to the other.

A new article of manufacture for use as gas-iorming ammunition in a gas cannon comprising a series of balls of carbide having weakened connections to one another andseparable into sections.

3. A new article oi' manufacture for use as gas-forming ammunition in a gas cannon comprising spaced carbide pellets, and a paper strip ship one to the other.

4. A new article of manufacture for use as gas-forming ammunition in a gas cannon comprising spaced carbide pellets, and an easily severed binder for holding the pellets in a predetermined, spaced relationship to one another.

.EDWARD S. PEAKE.

"carrying *said pellets in predetermined relatior- 

